Logical Reasoning · Inference (Complete the Argument)

PrepTest 102 · Section 2 · Question 3

Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Inference (Complete the Argument)

The one idea it tests

Chain the facts together and finish with only what they guarantee, worded carefully.

The basic logic

The premises describe a process: doing the plan shrinks a store, and shrinking the store releases its contents into the very place you are trying to empty. So the plan can, at least at first, push that level the wrong way. Pick the modest ending the chain supports.

Tiny words that decide it

“might”
“at first”
“as”
“but not”

Playground logic

Tommy's plan is to cut down the wrappers in the trash can (bottom bun). But as his hidden stash shrinks, those wrappers land in the can (patty). So the plan might at first fill the can more, not less (top bun).

Step 2 · The kid story

Tommy's Wrapper Diet

Mom said there were too many candy wrappers in the kitchen trash. Tommy made a promise: no more buying candy. Lulu, clipboard ready, asked a question. 'Where does your candy live right now?' Tommy pointed to his secret sock drawer, stuffed with old candy. 'When I stop buying, I just eat the drawer candy until it is gone. The drawer gets smaller, but I still have the same drawer.' Lulu wrote fast. 'And every drawer candy you eat puts a wrapper in the kitchen trash.' Priya nodded. 'So your no-buying plan might, at first, put MORE wrappers in the can.' Tommy frowned. 'That is not fair.' 'It is not fair,' Lulu agreed. 'But it is logic.'

Step 3 · Try the model question

Tommy stops buying candy to reduce the wrappers in the kitchen trash. While he stops buying, he eats the candy hidden in his drawer, and the drawer empties but stays in place. Each piece eaten from the drawer puts a wrapper in the kitchen trash. Therefore, while Tommy keeps his no-buying promise, he ______.

Which choice best finishes the argument?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Warehouse Dust Dispute

Ms. Lark sued her landlord because her shop got dustier after she banned outside shoes. Mr. Whitfield explained to the jury. 'Folks, the shoe ban stops new dust. But her old rugs hold years of dust. When the rugs get walked on less, she rolls them up and shakes them out, and all that stored dust lands on the shelves.' A juror gasped. 'So the ban could make it dustier at first?' 'Exactly,' said Mr. Whitfield. 'Not forever. At first.' The judge dismissed the case, and Ms. Lark bought a better broom.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 102, Section 2, Question 3 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Read the blank as asking 'what do these facts lead to?' Line up the process: the plan, what it shrinks, and where the stored stuff goes when it shrinks. Notice whether that destination is the very thing the plan tries to reduce. Then choose the ending that follows from the chain and is hedged as much as the facts are. Skip endings that are too strong, that contradict a premise, or that bring in a comparison the passage never sets up.